Relief and Recovery Leadership
Thursday, July 16, 2015
After this year’s tornado devastated Moore, Okla., three graduate students from OSU’s
Fire and Emergency Management Program played an important role in the Oklahoma City
suburb’s recovery.
The students played prominent roles on their relief teams, helping the community
begin to recover from the tragedy.
While on site, they put into practice what they had learned in the classroom, with
each of them responsible for one of the three phases of disaster recovery. Here are
their stories.
Stage 1 — Emergency and First Response
As one of the first to arrive in Moore after the tornado hit on May 20, Rodney Foster
helped rescue people from under the rubble and contained a natural gas leak that could
have led to a disaster of its own.
Foster is a training major for the Midwest City Fire Department. He develops curriculums
and trains emergency response personnel to help people when a crisis strikes.
He makes sure that firefighters adhere to guidelines, including those from OSHA,
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Foster also steps in when his fellow firefighters are not at the station.
“I often take their place on the fire engine, and that was the case on the day of
the tornado in Moore,” he says.
Foster has been involved in five major disaster relief efforts, including the May
3, 1999, tornado that hit Moore.
Despite having seen the destruction of that 1999 tornado in Moore, Foster was in
awe from the latest strike.
“I had a feeling of what I would see when I was called out, but I was still shocked.
The looks in victims’ eyes were compelling,” he says.
A desire to help people in need combined with a team environment and a taste for
the rush of adrenaline common for first responders led Foster to choose this line
of work.
Foster earned a master’s degree in fire and emergency management administration
this summer from OSU. The program has encouraged him to view his work with a holistic
approach and consider all aspects of a disaster. He better understands how victims
react and what they’re going through in trying times, he says.
Stage 2 — Backup Comes In
After the first responders arrive at a disaster site, officials determine whether
the disaster is beyond the scope of their agencies.
If more help is needed, they call the Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corps. The program
is administered by the Oklahoma Department of Health and coordinated byDebra Wagner,
who oversees and supports 34 volunteer coordinators and more than 5,200 volunteers
in the state.
Wagner, who is certified in volunteer administration, is working toward a master’s
degree in fire and emergency management administration at OSU.
“I started with the Medical Reserve Corps as a clerical volunteer handling logistics
in a post-disaster simulation in July 2005 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma
City.
“The drill opened my eyes to wanting a career that would give me the opportunity
to be in the middle of things and make a difference, “ she says.
When disaster strikes, state and local agencies and relief organizations contact
the Medical Reserve Corps for backup. The organization brings in additional volunteers
— such as medical and mental health professionals, as well as non-medical volunteers.
Wagner’s animal response and triage plan started out as a class project at OSU. It
was put into action following the May tornadoes — veterinarians and vet techs were
the first teams Wagner dispatched to the affected areas. The Medical Reserve Corps
doesn’t typically respond within the first operational period of a disaster, but the
animal needs were immediate.
The health and wellbeing of everyone in a family, including animals, is among the
many responsibilities Wagner addresses.
Stage 3 — Long-term Recovery Efforts
Rebuilding homes and lives doesn’t occur overnight. Often, organizations unite to
create long-term plans to help the people who are affected by disasters.
That’s where John Ricketts comes in.
Ricketts is the manager of disaster services for Feed The Children, overseeing the
organization’s plan to help those in need following a disaster. He is working on his
master’s in fire and emergency management administration.
One aspect of the Oklahoma City native’s job is his involvement with the Voluntary
Organizations Active in Disaster alliance, made up of organizations and governmental
agencies on local, state and national levels that collaborate to help disaster survivors
and their communities. Ricketts was named the organization’s chair-elect in January,
a role he will assume in 2015.
As Feed The Children’s national representative to the alliance, he’s one of the
first people to know about recovery efforts. Ricketts was involved with the relief
efforts following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, flooding in Nashville, Tenn., the
2011 tornadoes
in Joplin, Mo., and in Alabama, as well as 2012’s Hurricane Sandy.
For the disaster in Moore, Ricketts was called to the State Emergency Operations
Center at the Capitol. There, Ricketts and representatives from the Red Cross, Salvation
Army and other nonprofits teamed up to begin helping people.
“Several organizations were coming together to make sure that activities don’t overlap
and that we help as many people as we can in the fastest way possible,” Ricketts says.
Shortly after first aid supplies and services were provided to the residents of
Moore, Ricketts and his teams began distributing supplies and food to the disaster
survivors as they began rebuilding their lives.
Ricketts and his teams worked at several distribution points, including the Lowe’s
home improvement store in Moore and nearby Platt College. About 30 volunteers from
Ricketts’ group handed out boxes with laundry detergent, cleaning supplies and hygiene
products to more than 250 people.
Since then, Ricketts andFeed The Children have provided aid to more than 50 organizations
with 1.6 million pounds of in-kind donations through 184 shipments, he says.
Ricketts says he is in it for the long haul.
“Going back to normal isn’t going to be easy for the citizens of Moore, but we’re
going to be there for them as long as they need our help.”
Story By Jonathan L. Lacaba